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LESSONS
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Developing Ears for Cymbals
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Developing Ears for Cymbals
By Robert McCormick
Professor of Music
University of South Florida
So you have just attended a clinic of your favorite Zildjian cymbal player and you've read all the fine articles available on the Zildjian website and in their print material. You have practiced some of these techniques and may be asking yourself what is the next step in learning the art of cymbal playing. One answer might be to develop a knowledge of the standard orchestral/chamber cymbal repertoire and begin developing great 'cymbal ears' or a sense of imaginative interpretation of cymbal performance.
One of the best ways to develop cymbal ears is to listen to several recordings of the same work and compare the quality of sound, color and interpretation. While you will probably find many different interpretations in your choice of recordings, it is often the individuality of the performer that makes music so interesting. Your comparison study could include, but not be limited to the following observations:
1. Can you hear and determine the approximate sizes and weights of the cymbals being performed? Why do you feel these particular cymbals were chosen?
2. How do these choices differ between the various recordings?
3. What is the difference in balance between the cymbals and the orchestra?
Perhaps the microphones were placed differently or was it the acoustics of the hall or the choice of the conductor or performer?
4. Do the cymbals on certain recordings sound brighter, darker, warmer or more resonant? What is the overall mood of the passage? Is the passage mostly woodwinds, brass, strings, large or chamber orchestra, or a tutti?
5. Are there particular passages that one cymbal player emphasizes more than another? Perhaps this is due to the recording technique?
6. Were there perceptible differences in overall phrasing between the recordings?
Listen carefully to the phrasing of the musicians around you and see if you can match their ideas.
7. If the part is performed on a suspended cymbal was choice of beater heavy, light, cord, yarn, soft, medium or hard? Was the cymbal suspended on a gooseneck or
a standard post stand and why?
8. Can you determine how long the cymbals were ringing? When and why were they dampened?
9. Does a particular recording sound more precise? More or less on 'top' of the beat? More or less consistent?
10. What are the differences in color and character? Do these match the color and
character of the music?
11. Was passage performed in a rhythmic style, dramatic style or a just as an added
spice?
Here are a few suggestions of great cymbal writing from the standard orchestral
repertoire that would work well for comparative listening:
Tchaikovsky: Symphony #4, Romeo and Juliet, Nutcracker
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto #2
Dvorak: Carnival Overture
Debussy: La Mer
Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain
Mahler: Symphony #1 and #2
Stravinsky: Petrouchka
Many other questions could be added to the list, so think of some additional ways of listening to the myriad of sounds, colors and music of cymbals. Of course this comparison study could and should be applied not just to cymbals and percussion but to the overall orchestra/ensemble as well. You can do additional listening for differences in pitch, timbre, drama, pacing, tempi, balances and overall flow of the performance, etc. I prefer listening with a top quality of headphones. Some of these questions are rhetorical, but hopefully this can lead to a more perceptive sense of musicality. A score of the work may not be needed at the initial level but becomes very critical for an advanced level of study.
In conclusion, it is important to remember that every cymbal player has different concepts of sound, technique, color and interpretation. I would not be concerned about which player had the better performance, but how much we can learn from each other. That is what is exciting. Without individuality, there is very little imagination!
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